Glass Memorial
by Six-string Samurai
Summary: Ranma is trapped in another world, one where strength is measured by the sword, and damsels are aplenty.
1. Default Chapter

_"It seems forever, since I got stuck here.It's __kinda__ strange, different from what I'm used __ta__. I__ wish, I…no, that sort of thing put me here in the first place. Wishes, what good are they when__ everything just gets taken away?__Hn__, someone else to talk to would be nice right about now though. I__ wonder how you guys are doing; even notice yet that I'm not there? Probably, __Heh__…bet you're all__ going crazy right now, __tearin__' up the place and all. H-Hold up, I…I can feel someone nearby. Gods,__there really is somebody out there. Maybe they can get me __outta__ here…_

**A Ranma ****Nibunnoichi**** Fan fiction by S³**

Flinging branches left and right, she continued her frantic flight through the underbrush. How she wished it was aft summer, when the leaves were fallen and the ground was bare.Vines kept snaring her tender feet, and roots all but leapt out of the ground to trip her. The girl knew she was faster than her pursuers, but they would catch her soon if she could not get out of the trees. Behind her, she could hear their angry shouts, a bevy of mocking curses. It wouldn't be too long before they caught up.Tired, sore and winded, yes, it wouldn't be very long at all.

There it was, only a hundred meters ahead lay a break in the trees, her salvation. Fear and hope renewed her resolve, gave her a focus to keep going.From the sound of it, the men chasing her saw the opening as well. They were surely gaining, the knife that whipped past her ear was all the proof she needed. Nearly stumbling again, she burst into a clearing, hoping, praying there would be something, anything to throw them off her trail. That was when she saw it, not too far off, but still some ways yet.

Hiding inside the old stone abbey had seemed a novel idea at the time, but that was before she found out that being inside was almost as frightening as being chased by slavers. The whole place was decrepit and covered in cobwebs.Thankfully there wasn't too much in the way of dust on the floor, or her footprints would leave a clear trail.At the moment, a small crawlspace underneath a large wooden staircase was her sanctuary. There wasn't a very good view of the hallway, but then that just meant they couldn't see the spot easily.

The girl could, however, hear muffled voices and footfalls, echoing through the cold corridors. Huddled in the dark, as it was, it was hard to tell if they were getting closer, or moving farther away. Thought it was already mid summer, it felt much colder here in the confines of the abandoned abbey. After a few minutes the heavy footsteps of the men faded, and only muted snippets of conversation made it to her ears. Deciding that it was foolish to remain in one place too long, she quietly scooted over to the edge of the stairs.

The corridor was empty, as she hoped.Letting out a breath, the girl attempted to calm herself down. The question now was which way to go? Canting her head, she gave the staircase a once over. The wood didn't look all that sturdy; it was probably best not to chance it. Since the men seemed to be further off toward the western wing of the abbey, it was prudent to head in the opposite direction.

Two minutes later, she was still walking along the corridor. Even this far inside, it wasn't too terribly dark. The light was due in part to the skylights that were placed periodically into the high walls illuminating what they could. In the wake of her footsteps, motes of dust were lifted into the air to ride the shafts of sunlight back to the floor. Not too much later, the girl became more and more certain that she would have trouble finding her way out, if she had to go back the way she came. Twist after turn of side passages had left her hopelessly confused. On top of that, having lost one shoe in her frantic flight through the forest, she was walking with a slight limp that was starting to ache something fierce.

Almost spent, the girl slumped up against the large oaken door that barred her path forward. There had been a few other doorways, all of which were either locked or missing from the frame. But, this was the first that was not off to the side of the corridor. She had rounded the corner, and nearly smacked straight into it. It was large and obviously heavy from the size of the slabs of wood that framed it. In her frustration she had all but worn herself out, pushing futilely at the impassive barrier. Not until she leaned against the door, did it mean anything to her that she could see the hinges on this side.

When the door began to yield, she nearly cried out for joy. It was still hard work, and took some time to wrest the door open enough to squeeze through the crack. Now that she was on the other side, she didn't feel very overjoyed anymore. It was a dead end, nothing more than some sort of study. At least that's what she thought it was, what with all the bookshelves lining the walls. Another of the skylights lit this room up as well. Looking back at the heavy door, she quickly pulled it closed.There really was not much sense in back tracking at this point, so she settled down to rest in a large chair that sat in the corner.

_Putting the worn and faded picture back into my pocket, I pressed up against the walls of my__ prison, staring out at the young girl that I had sense__d a few minutes ago. __"Hey, you--__uh, girl.__ Get me__ outta__ here__! C'mon--no, don't go __ta__ sleep--H__ey!" Pounding on the wall, I tried to get her attention._

_To have someone so close, but not even aware that I was there was maddening. Not about to give up__ when freedom was only steps away, I gave it another shot, "Hey! Hey!I know you can hear me, just__ stand back up and walk over here. It's not that hard. Get up __offa__ that lazy butt and let me out!"__Frustrated, I slammed my whole weight into the wall, not tha__t it would do much of anything…_

Blinking awake, the girl stifled a yawn. Bolting upright, her eyes searched the room. She had definitely not meant to fall asleep. Not when people were after her. Judging by the color of the sky that she could see through the hole in the ceiling, it had been more than just a little nap. It was almost dark outside, that wasn't a good thing. But, on the somewhat bright side, it had been long enough that those men may have decided to give up. Getting to her feet, she shivered. With the sun so far down, the cooler temperature inside was dropping even further.

Slowly, she turned around to face the room. It felt like there was someone watching her, like there was someone else in the room. She was about to pass if off as nervousness, when her eyes lit upon a full-length mirror resting up against the corner of one of the bookcases. Something seemed off about it, sure she could see her reflection in the silver specked surface, but it was hazy. Stepping up to the mirror, she wiped at the coat up dust that had accrued over time.

Once the dust was wiped away, she was able to get a look at how disheveled she had become. A futile attempt to straighten out her wrinkled and torn dress was met with a frown. To say nothing of her hair, it was just a tangled mess at this point. Shrugging, she hopefully would have time to deal with that later, if she got out of this place and back home. Just as she was about to turn away from the mirror and take a peek out the door, a second reflection caught her eye. There was a man right behind her!

Whirling about with the intention of flailing away, she only thrashed about for a second until she noticed she was alone. Breathing hard, the girl took another look at the mirror. As before, there was another reflection in the mirror aside from her own. At least that's what she thought at first. Upon closer inspection, he appeared to be faint, almost faded away. This was almost too much for her at this point, was he some sort of spirit?

_Finally, I thought she was going to leave before she noticed me. I wanted to laugh when she __spun around and started throwing her arms around, no technique at all. Luckily she didn't freak out too__ much, and when she stopped she turned back __ta__ take another look at me. I must've still freaked her__ out at that point, since all the blood rushed out of her face. It would do me no good if she fainted now__ of all __times. Maybe she thought I was a ghost, or something else. I'm still not all that sure what kind of__ place I'm in. I just know that I've been here for a long time, and getting out to get some food is __soundin__' real good right about now. _

_Ok, her just standing there and __gapin__' at me is wearing on my nerves. I tried smiling, you__ know; __ta__ get her calmed down and all. It's not working yet. Mouthing the words 'help me,' and 'let__ me out' weren't doing much either.This could get old real fast here. Racking my brain for the next __thing, I got an idea. I mimed a punch at the wall in front of me, hoping she might get the hint this time.After a few slow swings, she perked up. I think she understood, but I can't be sure with women. With __my luck, she thinks I want her to hit 'me'._

_All right, she walked away for a second, scratch that, here she comes with a chair, she's going__to__--__yep, I should step back I think. The chick is up and swinging the chair straight at the wall. I __wanted to leap up and down for joy when the wall shattered as she hit it. This has got to be one of my __better days I just know it. Before I knew what the hell I was doing, I found myself giving her a hug of__ appreciation._

_When my brain registered what my hands were __doin__' I let go and awaited the haymaker that was sure __to come. Course, after a few pain-free seconds, I cracked open an eye __to see her just standing there._

_Come to think of it, she is a little bumped and bruised, __missin__' a shoe even. Hell, she looks like I feel,__just too damn tired of it all.Maybe she knows where to get some food."Uh, yea__--__thanks and all, you__ know, for getting me out. __Name's __Saotome__ Ranma, nice __ta __m__eetcha__ I __would'a__ bowed, but my back__ was killing me from sitting down for so long. There is only so much one can do in a room that is only a__ few feet wide in any direction. It wasn't until now, when her reply sounded an awful lot like gibberish,__that I realize__d there was __gonna__ be a problem._

Once the Spirit of the mirror started beckoning to her, she grew unsure of what to do. He looked sad at first, but soon began smiling. It was enough to entice her to take a few steps closer. Then, he did something odd; he slowly pointed his arm at her. He did this thing more than one time, going a little

faster after each swing. It didn't take her too long to grasp the intent of the spirit. He wanted her to hit the mirror. Surely that would cut her arm if she used her hand as he was intending! Casting a glance around, she spotted a smaller chair and went to pick it up. That would do nicely to break the mirror…

Now, there they stood. The Spirit had just grabbed her and then suddenly let go. At the moment she was a little confused as to what was going on. The mirror was broken and there was a small room on the other side. That alone unnerved her; it was a standing mirror and wasn't affixed to the wall. If she wanted, she could lean around and look at the backside of the mirror.This whole experience was simply more than a young girl was used to. It all went downhill from there; the Spirit started talking rapidly to her in an odd tongue, certainly nothing like her own language.

"You're free now, Spirit. I'm sorry, but I cannot understand what you say; do you not speak Altian?" She tried to ask, though judging by the Spirit's face he could not. At a loss for what to do, she walked back over to the large chair in the corner and sat down. Despite the rest she had gotten, her body was still very much sore, especially her feet. The Spirit righted the chair that she had used to break the mirror, but did not sit down. Instead, he walked around the small room, which was still much bigger than the one he had been imprisoned in.

After walking the length of the room a few times, the Spirit moved over to the door. Seeing that he was intent on opening it, the girl rushed over to stop him, crying out, "No, wait! They might be out there, we have to be careful." The Spirit looked at her strangely, before nudging her out of the way. "Please, we must be sure they aren't in the hallway first," she hoped the desperation in her voice would be enough, as he couldn't understand the words themselves.

_What is with this girl? She finishes talking and just sits in the corner. I took a look around the room;__first good look since I got here, it was __nothin__' special in my book. __Kinda__ dirty though, __lemme__ tell __ya_

_Anyways, I fix up the chair, in case I wanted to sit too. Yea right, like I hadn't had enough of that to__ last a lifetime. I decided this was fun and all, but I want to really stretch, get the blood __pumpin__', that__ kind of thing. So what does this girl do when I go __ta__ open the door? She babbles at me some more,__looking all scared or __somethin__'. That caught my interest._

_I managed to calm her down after a few seconds, well, not __r__eally. I'm terrible at that sort of thing; I just__ sorta__ nudged her to the side, and tried the door. Maybe there was some big monster out there; I really __wanted to see what I could still do. The door pushed open pretty easily, which surprised the girl for __some reason, '__cuz__ she looked at me with this really freaked out expression. I just shrugged, figuring it __was better than trying to talk. She didn't know what I was saying anyway._

_I wish she hadn't taken that nap earlier we would have better light to see. From the look of it, the sun __just went down a few minutes ago. Don't get me wrong, doesn't bother me much, but the girl nearly __flipped out when the last bit of sunlight faded. I wish she'd stop babbling at me, it's getting on my __nerves, though she is keeping it around a whisper. Did I mention how clingy she started to get? A few__ minutes ago, after we got __outta__ the small hallway, she just about choked me __ta__ death when a bird flew __by one o' those holes in the roof._

_You have no idea how glad I am to be out of that place. Once we got out into the open, the girl__ seemed to relax. Sure, she still looked a little out of it, but she stopped __bein__' all fidgety. This was all __that mattered to me; it meant she wouldn't crush my ribs anymore. I got enough of that action back __home__--__home, now that's something I love to dwell on. I still have no real clue where I am. Sure, I've__ traveled a bit, but never really left Asia. That building looked noth__ing like what I'd seen before._

**Glass Memorial - Chapter 1**

_The way I figure it, I'm stuck in some __kinda__ other dimension or __somethin__'. I mean, I've been following this worn out chick for the past hour and everything she says sounds too strange. She might have been_

_givin__' me her life story for all I knew. I'm no great student or __nuthin__', but I'd like to think I know a regular language from a weird one. I heard from my pops once about some people in Africa that talk by __clickin__' their tongues, but that wouldn't be half as odd as what she's __doin__'. I tried to tell her my name a few times. That didn't work out at all. _

_ On top of everything, the girl will not quiet down. I can tell she's exhausted, but she keeps talking and talking. Not only that but she stops to stare at me every few minutes. I hope we get to wherever it is we are headed soon. The exercise is great, but the company sure sucks. Not that I can complain really. Not when I just spent what felt like a lifetime crammed in what could've passed for a closet. I think I __kinda__ understand what the old pervert went through when pops and Mr. Tendou trapped him in that cave._

_ About ten kilometers__ from the torn up building she got even more animated which I didn't think was possible. The forest was starting to thin out too. I just hope this means we're __gettin__' close to wherever she's __leadin__' me._

_ Well, by the flicker of light__ up ahead, I guess we've come upon some __kinda__ village or something. I didn't bother trying to ask the girl, since she all but broke out into a full sprint once the lights came into sight. Maybe she could set me up with a bed and some food. It hurts to think of the last time I actually had a meal, decent or otherwise. Not wanting my meal ticket to get out of sight, I picked up the pace some, just enough to keep an eye on her retreating form. It was pretty easy, especially when the girl was silhouetted by the lights ahead._

She almost cried out for joy when the lights of her hometown penetrated the thinning forest. If she was lucky her father wouldn't tan her hide for being gone so long and worrying everyone. Of course, once she told of what had happened, that would be a different story all together. Everyone knew the bandit gangs were getting bolder with the festival season approaching.

The fact that her father was the leader of the town militia would not go unnoticed. She knew him well, and after this, he'd be out for blood. That the bandit's were dabbling in slave trading would only count further against them. After tonight, the town's guard would be out in force, possibly going as far as sending out patrols to dispatch the bandits. They would pay for trying to abduct cute young girls!

As she anxiously ran toward the town, she glanced over her shoulder once she remembered her companion. Whatever was she going to say to her father about the Spirit she'd set free? She actually began to doubt whether or not to even bring him into town. Despite the fact that she felt he was harmless, who really knew how to deal with the Spirits?

The old tales always portrayed the Spirit folk as being fair to look upon, but possessing of strange whims and powerful magiks. As she watched him catch back up to her, she marveled that whatever he was, he most certainly possessed a fair countenance; smooth features and eyes that bore a curious slant. There was no mistaking that he was of some unearthly realm. The only thing that threw off her impression was that he was barely taller than her.

She was used to all of the boys in the area looking down on her when they spoke. That was a welcome change. Now, only if the two of them could actually hold a conversation. His tongue was strange, so unlike her own. She'd tried to make heads or tails of it over the journey home, but it had been to no avail. Likewise, it seemed the Spirit was unable to grasp her speech. All considered it had made for a lonely walk.

Oh, she'd made pleasant conversation, talking about how she'd ended up in the company of the slavers, and her subsequent flight that ended in the old monastery. It had helped to put the whole day's events into perspective, if only for her. For his part, the Spirit had remained attentive, or so it has seemed at the time. Thinking back, he'd probably been bored near to tears. But, that was behind them now.

Shaking her head to reorient her thoughts, she noticed that they were almost at the town gate. She would have to decide quickly what to do about him. To let him in would seem the thing to do, but she wanted to be sure first. There had been nothing on the way back to indicate that there was any malicious intent. If he had wanted, he could have had his way with her back in the secluded confines of the ruins. What could he hope to gain by waiting until she was back in a well protected area?

The dilemma settled; she approached the gates, calling out to Jek, who was probably standing watch as usual. When her call was answered in kind, she stepped out into the halo of the lamps so Jek could see it was really her. Naturally, all of the guards knew full well the sound of her voice, and the gates were already being unlocked even as she began to come into the light. She 'tisked' to herself, father would have to have a word with them again. What if someone had been using her to get inside? But, that was for another time. She had many questions weighing heavily on her mind. And, what would become of her pigtailed savior?

_I followed close behind the girl as we both passed through a huge gate, __leadin__' into what looked like some __sorta__ village. From what little I could see__ the place was probably pretty small. Keeping one eye on her, the arrival of a couple a' brawny guys caught the rest of my attention._

_First, I thought they were __spoilin__' for a fight. I know I was ready to get the kinks out of my system. But, as soon as the girl began __chatterin__', they seemed to settle a bit. Damn, oh well. They seemed to know the girl anyway. Not that it helped me relax any. When you can't understand what people are __sayin__', it tends to bug __ya__ for awhile._

_It didn't take long for them to catch up or whatever, and soon everyone was __lookin__ at me. I thought I was used to __bein__ the center of attention all the time, but I guess not. They looked like they were __expectin__ me __ta__ do __somethin__. My confusion __musta__ been showing on my face, __cuz__ they quit staring and started __talkin__ again. Since they seemed to be busy, I figured I would take the chance to check the rest of the place out. Maybe I would get lucky and run across something __ta__ eat._

_From outside, the place had looked pretty big. But, now that I could see it all up real close, there wasn't much __ta__ look at. __A __bunch'a__ homes, and a shop or two.__ I didn't see too many people outside, but I guess it was getting __sorta__ late. About the only real __interestin__ place I could see without __gettin__ too far away from the girl, was a big building towards the center of town. It was hard to see much with the bad lighting, so I didn't get too go__od of a look. If I had __ta__ guess__ I'd say the pla__ce was a town hall, or a temple--__somethin__ like that._

_Bout right then, a delicious scent caught my attention. Dinner was __bein__' served. All of the sudden, my stomach started growling like crazy, loud enough for everyone standing around __ta__ hear. I rubbed the back of my head and tried to laugh it off, who knows maybe no one noticed. Of course, my luck must just not be that great. As soon as I'd stopped chuckling, the girl I'd followed here was all but in my face, looking at me __kinda__ funny._

_Shouting out more of that gibberish they called a language, she made a grab for my hand and tried to haul me off. Aside from the big guys she'd been __talkin__ to, the rest of the place looked pretty harmless, and the girl, well, there wasn't much muscle to her, not like back home anyway. But, she had work muscle at the very least. It was a sure bet life wasn't easy in a small town like this. Figuring I didn't really have anywhere else to go, I let her drag me along._

_We ended up stopping in front of one of the bigger houses, one with a big wooden __badge hanging__ to the __left __side of the __door. The girl said a few words__ and held up her hand at__ my chest__ then she pretty much ran to the door. She looked back at me once before going inside. From her expression, it was hard to tell __just __what she was __thinkin__, but __she probably wanted me to__ wait._

_So I did. In the meantime, I battled with my stomach to keep it from __wakin__ the neighbors_

--


	2. Chapter 2

Glass Memorial

Chapter 2

_Well, as it turns out, the girl I'd been following was, near as I could figure out, the daughter of the village boss, or chief…whatever you wanna call it. He was the big guy in charge, or at least, that's how it looked ta me. I mean, what else do you call it when one guy speaks and everyone else stops ta listen? Their language was all goofy, but I got the point pretty much right away, just by lookin' around at how everyone was actin' around the guy. Course, at first, I thought it was just on account of his size. The guy was huge, and he put some of the Musk to shame._

_Anyway, the girl who'd free'd me, she musta worked something out with her old man, cuz they set me up in a small room on the second floor of their house for the first couple of nights that I spent in the village. It took me only until the middle of the first day to realize whose house I'd been staying in, what when her dad led me around the village, pointing out a few places to me. _

_I guess he was givin me the grand tour, but all I could do was nod when he went on explainin the buildings he was showin me. I think he got the point, when he stopped talkin so long after the fourth building. I felt kinda stupid for it too. I mean, yeah I'd been across China with pop, and we hadn't been able to understand more than a few phrases, most of which were spoken with a weapon or fist thrust our way at the same time, making the point pretty obvious. Not to mention, when I was bein chased by Shampoo, we never really stopped anywhere long enough to worry about the whole language problem. Not to mention the whole Jusenkyo thing…stupid old man._

_The village chief guy, right…well, we made the rounds and ended up back at his place. The whole time, I'd been half paying attention to him, and a little more to the other villagers, mostly since they'd been all but pointin and starin at me the whole way. Sure, I was used ta getting a few spit-takes back home when my curse popped up, but even those wore off after a year or so, in Nerima anyway. But, I hadn't gotten splashed yet, and was still getting second and third takes from the villagers. Then again, I still don't know where that damn pervert's little trinket sent me, but it sure wasn't anywhere in Japan, and about as rural as the Juketsuzoku village, but larger and more crowded together. No runnin water either, which is probably why I'd been lucky so far._

_Back at the girl's house, I found her waitin around for me ta get back. I mean, she was smiling and all when we came through the door, and started talking ta me for a bit, then kinda wound down. I think she remembered I couldn't make out what she was saying._

_Before her dad and I left, she seemed like she wanted to come along, but her dad had said a few words to her, and she trudged off and started cleaning up the place._

_Honestly, I'm only guessing they're father and daughter, since I haven't seen anyone else around the place so far. No other kids, no wife. The guy could be an Uncle, or a really old brother. But, they looked more like a father and his daughter ta me. I'd seen enough single dads to know._

_After she wound down, we all sat down to a pretty decent meal that I'm pretty sure she cooked while I was being led around the village. It was kinda nice ta be able to eat quietly, and not have ta wolf down my food for fear of pop swipin half of it. It was good defense trainin sure, but even I like ta taste what I'm eatin half the time. She even gave me a second helpin too, when I emptied the dishes in front of me. Probably cuz she saw how starved I'd been at breakfast that morning. Being caged up for a while does that to ya, lemme tell ya._

_We didn't do much else that first day, other than a few of the villagers stopped by to talk to the big guy, but from the way everyone that visited kept sneakin peeks at me, I think they were just makin an excuse. I really didn't mind all the attention, but everyone was kinda, half curious half scared. That's probably what started to bug me most. I didn't do nuthin to freak anybody out, not yet anyway. If the curse activated, well, I guess that would be as good a reason to flip out as any. Hell, if I didn't exactly like it, I couldn't start blamin everyone else. I mean, as long as they didn't start blaming me for it. I can't exactly help changing inta a girl when I get wet. Damn curse._

_Not that the peace lasted a whole lot longer. And this time, it actually was kinda my fault too. Not that I thought it was too much to ask for a decent bath. I know I probably smelled something rank after sittin behind that mirror for as long as I did. Neither the girl, nor her dad said anything to me about it, but I was sure if I took of my clothes, they'd be able to stand up just fine without me in 'em. And the few times I'd scratched at the back of my head, I'd felt my hair stickin together in little clumps. Yep, nothing like weeks on end with no bath in sight brought back great memories of life on the road with my old man. The panda never did get back into the habit of washin daily. Well, unless I sent him for a little dip in the Tendou's carp pond, then Kasumi made him take a bath. The fish smell wasn't good for the tatami mats in the house._

_Not sure how to get my point across, I'd walked up to the girl and made a show of givin myself a good sniff, wrinkling my nose when I did. She laughed and must've got the point right away, since she walked off and motioned me to follow her outside and around to the back of the house. Out back, there was a small wooden hut, which she let me to and opened the door, pointing inside._

_I took a look, and found it was almost like the furo back home, at least at first glance. In the center of the shack was a big wooden barrel rising up just a meter above the floor, big enough to fit two or three people, if they were real comfortable with each other, probably a benefit of being the village leader or something. I mean, I'd seen a large well in the village square, and we'd crossed a river on the way into the town, but without water pipes, it seemed like a bit of a waste. Then again, it was only half full._

_While I was busy admiring the tub, the girl walked in and pointed to a little handle up near the ceiling in the back corner of the shack. She stood just to the side of the handle, giving it a short tug. Part of a board slid down near where the ceiling met the wall, and a jet of water splashed out. I got the idea. Yep, just like home._

_The girl said something and I followed her gesture to a basket in the other corner, which had a bunch of folded cloth in it, and a small overturned bucket next to it. Resting on top of the bucket was a fist sized chunk of white, which looked like the homemade soap I'd seen in the more rural villages I'd been to with pop._

_I smiled and nodded to let her know I got the general idea. She seemed to get the hint and left me to bathe in peace. When I found out just how cold the water was, suddenly I wasn't looking forward to a bath quite as much. The water in the tub was lukewarm at best. Now, it wasn't so much like home as I'd wished. Which also left me stuck in my cursed body, and the day got a whole lot better. Grabbing one of the towels from the basket, I dried off and grumped to myself, wondering if the girl was gonna bring me a change of clothes, or if I had to get dressed in my old outfit. Course, right now, that was the least of my worries, I mean, how was I gonna explain it this time? I doubt there was a kettle handy._

_I didn't have a whole lot of time to decide, since my mental gymnastics were interrupted by a soft rap on the bathhouse door._

_Just great. Perfect timing. Wrapping the towel around myself as best I could, I padded over to the door, mind whirling with half-baked explanations, useless as they might be when no one here could understand me anyway. The story of my life, as far I'm concerned._

A/N: There, it's updated after years of being shelved. Now, send me glorious reviews so I can summon up the motivation to update again before six years pass by. If the stars align just right, I'll gain the mystic powers of "Chapter Update," by the end of the week. No promises though. 내일,다른update을생각하기할거예요.

Oh, as a side note, if I could get a few readers to review, or at least look at "A Cry in the Dying Light," that'd be the bee's knees, because to me, 10 hits a month is kind of sad.


	3. Chapter 3

Glass Memorial

Chapter 3

Redda left the bathhouse, and went back inside. She'd seen the state of the Spirit's strange thin garnments and judging from the worn and soiled condition, they wouldn't be fit to wear, at least until she had the chance to clean them up a bit. Which left her with a bit of a predicament, what would be suitable for the Spirit to wear in the meantime? Her father's clothes were obviously out of the question, and her own dress left much to be desired. But, then she recalled something that just might do the trick. She still had her Harvest clothes from last year, which were made the same for both the young girls and boys of the village to work out in the fields. It was perfect. Thus decided, she went off to dig through her wardrobe for the Spirit's new outfit.

She hoped he'd be pleased with what she provided. Taking her time, she made her way back down to the bathhouse out back.

The brunette knocked on the door a second time, shifting the bundle of clothes in her arms so she didn't drop them. "Spirit, I've brought these for you," she said, mostly to let her presence be known. She already knew they didn't really understand one another, but it was more out of courtesy ingrained by her father over the years, than anything else. She'd long ago learned to knock and announce herself before entering a room with houseguests. Theirs might be a little village, but even here privacy was valued, especially when it came to business and other matters that her father often attended to.

She raised her hand to knock again, when the door opened a crack, and a pair of blue eyes peeked out at her. The mayor's daughter found herself staring at the face of an unfamiliar girl, which prompted her to take a step backward in confusion. The girl on the other side of the door looked to be around the same age as her, but with slightly darker skin, and features that reminded the brunette of something, but she was at odds to place it. Which is when the strange girl spoke, and Redda realized she used the same strange tongue as the Spirit.

The girl said a few more words, and then shook her head, sticking an arm out through the narrow gap of the door.

Redda paused, still not quite sure if she was just imagining things, but when she didn't loosen her grip on the clothes, the other girl flung the door wider with a huff of what might have been annoyance, and stepped halfway out of the doorway to snatch the bundle from the stunned girl's hands.

Only when the door slid shut, and Redda was left standing alone in the backyard, did she realize she was empty-handed.

Not seconds after she came back to her senses, the bathhouse door reopened, and the girl stepped out, red hair flashing brightly in the noonday sun. The girl was dressed in Redda's harvest clothes that she'd brought out from the house. The long thick pants and dark blue shirt fit the redhead quite well, and would have been a little too short had the Spirit remained in the other form, for Redda was sure that the two were the same, it was too much of a coincidence otherwise. Not that she didn't wonder, just a little, and poked her head into the bathhouse to make sure it was empty, which it was.

The Spirit probably guessed what she was thinking, because as soon as Redda turned back away from the bath, the other girl was smirking at her knowingly. The brunette smiled sheepishly in return and stepped back out, pulling the door closed behind her as she left. There would be time later to clean up the bathhouse. And with the rest of her chores done for the day, she resolved to try and learn more about her strange guest. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but was unable to do so due to the language barrier, which she'd been thinking about how to solve the whole day before.

There was also the matter of simply being able to address the Spirit directly. She didn't want to risk offending it, and now with this transformation, she was even less inclined to give her own name up. The old tales she'd been told as a child warned of the hazards of such a careless act, and she wasn't keen on befalling some of the more diabolic fates. The stories were never kind to the unwary, and even then, there was no guarantee. Though, there was one great difference to her situation and those of old, the simple fact that dark spirits and evil creatures always bore visible signs of their misdeeds and treachery. They were twisted folk, inside and out, and the Spirit she'd released from the mirror, it didn't look the least bit harmful. In fact, Redda had found herself sneaking looks during the long trek back from the ruins. And that had been when the Spirit was guised as a boy. Now, in this form, Redda noticed that the Spirit was equally, mysterious looking.

Realizing she'd been staring, the mayor's daughter dropped her gaze and fidgeted with her hands for a moment, gathering herself. Putting on what she hoped was a nonchalant smile she inclined her head back toward the house, and took a few steps, waiting for the Spirit to follow.

Breaking the short silence, she began telling the Spirit that she had the rest of the day free from housework, and that she wondered at how long the Spirit would be staying in the village. She continued mostly talking to herself as they entered the house, and found seats in the great room across from the kitchen. The whole time the Spirit kept nodding and would make small noises to show it was listening, even if the words were meaningless.

Redda continued her monologue until it was time to prepare dinner, at which she excused herself, only to find the Spirit had decided to follow her into the kitchen.

_I hadn't realized how nice it was not to have someone freak out once they found out about the curse, but I'd say as first reactions went, the brown haired girl's was pretty mild compared to some. I mean, she didn't scream, throw stuff, or even attempt to brain me with any nearby blunt objects. It was actually kind of funny to watch her checking to see if I'd somehow tricked her and been hiding in the little bathhouse. But, it felt like she figured it out real quick either way. She even laughed at herself over it._

_Actually, at first I was kinda worried that she'd snapped, or passed out standing up, when she froze after first seeing me. But, she recovered quicker than the old pervert after I'd bounced back one of his crazy firecrackers. That made it big in my book any day._

_Plus, I'd wondered a little at what kind of clothes she'd brought, seein as how the guy she lived with was way bigger than me, and I wasn't gonna be caught wearin no dress of hers either. The wool pants and shirt were a surprise that's for sure. They fit just about perfect, and I was sorta glad I'd changed inta a girl for once. The clothes she lent me woulda been okay on me as a guy, but I think they probably would have looked kinda stupid, bein' too short and all._

_Well, two good things in my book in all. She didn't flip and try to kill me, and I got out of my old clothes. As comfortable as they were, even I had my limits as to how long I'd stay in musty and dirty stuff. My shoes were still good to go though._

_After getting all clean, I was kinda bored, havin nothing ta do for the past, well, I'm not too sure how long I was stuck in that damn room. But, I didn't know exactly how to go about askin the girl what there was to do around here. Touring the village got me to realize this place was just a bunch of farmers and regular people. Other than the two guys I'd seen guarding the gate at the front of the wall that surrounded the village, no one else looked the least bit skilled in fighting, let alone any of the Arts. The big guy whose house I was staying in, well he didn't quite strike me as the brawlin' type either. Maybe if he had a few drinks in him, it'd be another story, but he was big like a lifelong construction worker, not one of those cage fighters, or wrestlers. So, it looked like I was out a sparring partner, while I hung around here anyway._

_I ended up just sitting around and getting lost in my thoughts while the girl kept saying stuff to me for a good two hours. I didn't want to look like a jerk in front of the girl that got me out of that place, so I tried to make like I was listening to her, and after a while, even I could tell she was just talking to make noise. The house was pretty quiet, I'll give it that. The whole place was that way. It was nice being back in an unpopulated area. I hadn't known just how much noise was going on all the time back in Nerima. And the downtime didn't hurt too much either._

_Now that I was back out in the real world, I'd half expected Ryouga, or one of the others to show up out of the blue screamin' bout revenge, or joinin' the schools. Cramped up in that little room, I'd often thought about just what I would do when I got out, and sittin by a fireplace listenin to a girl talk for a good while in a language I couldn't make heads or tails of, well, it wasn't one of the things that occurred to me. Not that this was bad, or anything. It was kind of relaxing, and she had a soft voice, almost put me to sleep._

_Before I noticed it, she stopped speakin to me, which I picked up right away, and watched her get up from the seat she'd spent the afternoon in. She said something else to me after getting up, and I watched her head to the kitchen. If she was makin something to eat, I was all for it. If she didn't mind a hand, I was kinda looking forward to having something to do. With that in mind, I left the comfort of the warm seat and padded on over to see just what she was up to._


	4. Chapter 4

Glass Memorial

Chapter 4

The first few times the Spirit had attempted to help Redda with her work around her father's house, the young brunette had been rather reluctant, though she hadn't outright refused. The two settled into a sort of routine by the second day, with Redda doing most of the work initially, until the Spirit seemed to pick up on what the girl was doing and all but took over the menial tasks. Though the girl grinned a little, as she thought back to the day before when she'd told her father who'd been helping her make dinner. The look on his normally stern face was priceless.

On the fourth day since she'd found her guest in the abandoned ruins, Redda found herself woken up much earlier than usual by a rhythmic thudding coming from outside her bedroom window. Pushing aside the curtain, she found the morning fog had rolled in from the meadows outside town, and the morning sun had yet to poke up over the top of the village walls. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she glanced down into the yard below, to the source of the incessant noise.

To say she was surprised would've been an understatement, for the Spirit was out near the bathhouse, dancing across the grass, kicking up sprays of morning dew as it moved rapidly across the earth, sometimes seeming to fly through the air, and almost appeared to float free of nature's hold. It was mesmerizing, and Redda was unsure of how long she leaned on the sill, looking out down below. Between bursts of flight, the Spirit would seem to pause as it passed by an upturned log that look to sprout from the ground, and its hands and feet thundered against the wood, echoing the impacts in the sound that had first woken her. She'd never seen anything like it her whole life, not even in the stories of her grandmother.

_Again and again, I hammered my fists against the makeshift post, denting the wood with the force of my blows. It'd been a little problem trying to drag the log all the way back from the forest and over the wall last night, so I kept my strikes light, not wanting to break my new training board. Back and forth, I worked the kinks out of my system, throwing myself through the paces of forms I'd learned inside and out as a kid. It was all easy stuff, but I'd been cooped up for a long time, and the last thing I wanted was to hurt myself trying to get back inta fighting shape._

_Pushing off the ground, I let my body arc through the air, pushing myself faster and higher with each rebound, til I'd somersaulted up to land onta the top of the log. Centerin my breath, I let go of all the excitement of getting back to the roots of the Art and made myself calm down, pulling myself into a slow headstand, I dropped into a new meditatin' stance I'd come up with durin my stay behind that mirror. If I'd learned one thing for sure, it was how ta get a good handle on feelin out my ki. Course, I'd also started bein able to pick up on other people's too. Even stuck behind that wall, I'd started reaching out as far as I could, a little more each day, until I was sorta seein the livin things around where I'd been stuck. Lemme tell ya, it woulda been a pretty handy little trick ta have back home. I bet I woulda got ambushed a whole lot less, that's for sure._

Redda clapped quietly to herself once the Spirit settled atop the giant log. His strange dance had been the most amazing thing she'd seen. She'd decided it was even better than the travelling plays and fairs that sometimes visited the village before harvest.

Just as she moved away from the window to go wash her face, the harsh peal bells startled her, and she fell backward, plopping onto her bed, her head missing the wooden frame by a hairsbreadth.

It was a sound she knew well this time; the guards on watch were ringing the great bell. Someone was attacking the village!

Outside in the yard, the Spirit nearly toppled from his perch when the first harsh tones of the warning bell rang out across the rooftops.

_Turning my accidental tumble into a crouched landing, I hit the ground feet first and looked up ta the window where my audience had been just a second before. I hadn't noticed her at first, so I wasn't sure how long she'd been watching, but I'd picked up on her presence immediately once I'd started to meditate. It'd been kinda jarring at first, probably cuz she'd been focused on me so intently. And now that I knew what to look for, I found that I could kinda tell about where she was in the house, and that she was worried about somethin' too. Then again, with those bells goin' crazy and all, there was prob'ly a good reason._

_Grabbing my shirt from the ground by the bathhouse, I hurried inside to see if I could find out what was goin' on. Halfway to the back door, I sensed another, stronger ki in the house. It had to be the big guy wakin up. Spurred on, I dashed into the house, and made my way to the room with the fireplace. You couldn't go anywhere in the house without going through there first, so I guessed it was the best place ta wait._

_I didn't have ta sit around long, before the brown-haired girl and the big guy were all but bowlin' each other over to get outta the hallway by the stairs. Judgin' by the scowl on his face, and the huge axe he was brandishin, I could make a pretty sure guess on what those bells meant. And it suited me just fine. If there was a fight around the corner, they could count me in for sure._

_I think they recognized the look on my face as well, cuz the girl's dad disappeared around the corner for a moment, and when he came back he was carryin' a sheathed sword in his other hand, which he tossed at me, then said something to his daughter. Whatever it was, she obviously didn't like it, since she started jabberin at him and got a look in her eye that reminded me of Akane in one of her insisting moods. I looked down at the weighty scabbard in my hands, and then over at the girl who was starting to fume. Yeah, this was kinda familiar ground after all. Lucky me._

Redda glared at her father. It wasn't that she didn't see his point, or even that she disagreed with him. After all, she'd already seen firsthand what ignoring the warnings of her elders got her, not a week past. But, for him to tell her that it was best if she went and hid with the rest of the women and children down at the shrine...the girl may have inherited her mother's looks, but she'd sure gotten her fire from her bull-headed father.

Neither father nor daughter would budge an inch in the matter, and the gray bearded head of the village decided to change tactics when he realized the strange being her daughter had dragged home was tensed and just as eager to deal with intruders to the village as his wayward child. So he'd gone and fished his old blade out from the trunk by his bed and lent it to the Spirit in the shape of a boy.

The sword was something of an heirloom, or rather, it was meant to be. Redda's father, Cygnus had intended to hand it down to his son when he came of age, but the fates had seen fit to grant him a daughter instead, so the sword had remained stored away. But now, perhaps it could be put back through its paces, for it was surely hungry after all these years, and he'd kept it well oiled and clean, so there was no danger of it becoming just another piece of useless metal.

"Spirit, boy...you'll get the chance to do your part, but for now, watch over my Redda. If it's those filthy slavers that attack us, they'll be after the women first. Now, hurry, we've wasted enough time!" The mayor thumped the flat of the axe to his barrel of a chest and hardened his eyes. He'd thought for sure the bandits and their ilk would have learned their lesson after last harvest. If they hadn't, well he'd beat in back into them with his own two hands!

Redda's momentary indignation dissolved into something akin to worry as she watched her father gather himself to defend the villagers. Already, the three of them could hear shouts and the rapid passing of footsteps from outside. The peal of the bells continued unabated, and there came a sharp series of knocks at the door, which Cygnus answered with a bellow of affirmation.

As her father threw open the door and made to join the village defenders, he turned a stony eye back on his daughter and the Spirit; "You'll do well to watch over the others at the shrine, Redda. That's the job I have for you."

The brunette didn't look all that happy about her father's order, but she wasn't fool enough to countermand him with no real reason other than her meager pride. "I'll see to it. I promise."

"That's my girl," Cygnus grinned for her, but it faded as he turned his broad back, he had a job to do, and hopefully, there would be time for family bonding later. All but leaping out the door, the towering mayor joined up with the throng of farmers and store owners of the village as the men ran to the gate to head off any entry into the village proper. It would be a long morning for them all.


	5. Chapter 5

Glass Memorial

Chapter 5

_I only kinda got an idea of what was going on, but that didn't stop me from following behind the girl after she made it clear that's what she expected. It probably hadn't hurt that her old man had just given me a serious speech back there. I got the impression he was treatin' me like Mr. Tendou used to whenever Akane got inta some new and crazy situation. What was it with tomboys and attractin' trouble, I still couldn't figure out. Not like it really mattered in the end, since it seemed like I was the one always pullin' them outta the fire._

_But, on the bright side, this girl was a lot more understandin' when it came ta me helpin out around the place. Maybe it was the whole language thing, but back home Akane woulda thrown a fit, or at least been suspicious right at first. So far, it felt like this girl was giving me more than just the benefit of tha doubt. In fact the first day or two, it felt more like she was bendin over backwards when she was dealin with me. First couple a times, I wondered if she just wanted something from me, but after a while I figured she was just bein nice ta me, kinda like how Kasumi treated guests, no matter who they were._

_For some reason, it kinda bothered me when I thought about it for too long._

_The two of us hurried down the wide streets of the village, down past the little market square. When she started headin for the hill out past the last of the homes, I guessed where we were aimin' for. The only thing up at the top of the hill was a large wooden building, one even bigger than the house I was stayin at. I'd seen it a few times, but only from the square. When the big guy was showin me around the place, he'd pointed at the hilltop building, but other than a few words, and an almost angry look, that was all I was shown about the place. And I'd reasoned, if he didn't think it was important enough to show to me personally, then I'd keep my curiosity to myself an leave it alone._

_Besides, I'd learned my lesson on keeping my nose out of places it didn't belong, thanks to a few of pops little side trips in some of the villages we passed through on the training trip. Well, after the third or fourth time, really…the first couple a times, he had me convinced it was trainin, all for the good of the Art, and all that. I'd gone along with his scheme, til I realized we were just breakin inta places and stealin things that ended up bein pretty valuable to the people we'd taken it from._

_I finally got the hint when at one temple, a shrine maiden kinda caught me in the act and sat me down to explain the finer points of keepin my mitts off of other peoples things, especially when said things were considered holy relics. And that was after she'd walloped me a few times with that broom of hers. Made me question a few of pops choices later on, so I guess it was worth the embarrassment of getting my ass chewed by a girl who had to have been half my age at the time._

_When we got up to the building, I saw that it was a bit larger up close than I'd thought. At two stories high, the place was sorta round, which set it off compared to the rest of the village's square shaped homes. Parts of it near the ground were made of some kinda dark rock, and the walls were the same plaster and wood of the rest of the buildings at the bottom of the hill. Just like the big guy's home, and a lot of the shops, there was a huge wooden sign hanging over the large double doors at the front of the place. Two guys, dressed in the fur and leather coats that marked them as village guards, were standin to either side of the big green doors._

_As we got close, the two obviously recognized the girl, and knocked a few times on one door. I could hear the scrape of wood on wood and a thunk as something heavy was moved on the inside, behind the doors, sounded like they'd barred the door up. We didn't have to wait long til the door on the right swung out, pushed slowly open by a pair of women a few years older than the big guy's daughter. The wooden door had to have been kinda heavy from the way it took two women, struggling, to get it to swing open._

Redda hurried through the village streets, checking behind her now and again to make sure the Spirit was following her lead. As much as she didn't want to feel useless and left out of helping the village, her father did have a point. So she'd acquiesced and made directly for the new shrine where the women and the village young had been told to gather in the event of an attack.

The shrine, she liked it about as much as her father did, which was to say very little indeed. They both referred to it as the news shrine, though the building itself was actually older than the village surrounding it. The reason was instead, the new order priest that had come to them just prior to the last harvest. He'd been welcomed by the majority of the villagers, mostly the younger generation, as they'd been more open to the message of the faith he introduced to them.

As the year went on, and the forthcoming harvest began to look less promising than usual, more and more of the villagers flocked to the shrine he'd taken over, and began entreating of the priest and the god he'd brought with him.

This did not go unnoticed or unopposed by the Mayor and the older villagers that made up the circle of elders that ran the businesses and organized the yearly harvest festival. They all held to the old beliefs that had as far as they were concerned, sustained the village thus far, providing the folk with the sustenance and succor of nature. The local village spirits only required belief and hard work on the part of the townsfolk. The only sacrifices needed were symbolic, and that's the way the Mayor had intended to keep it, but even he was powerless to convince the majority of the converts when the normally bountiful fruits of their labors were showing diminished returns.

And like that, the shrine had been remodeled in the interior, with the traditional tablets and all the old spirit altars removed, put away into a storage shed on the far side of the high hill next to the gnarled and bent tree of the founders.

Suppressing a sigh, the brunette pushed past the two guards and the women at the entrance, making her way into the dimly lit interior. Inside, once her eyes got used to the faint light, she was slightly surprised at how many people had been crammed into the building. It wasn't just the village women, but a few of the men, mostly merchants, as well. The villagers were scattered in small groups, little clusters here and there across the floor of the temple.

What few furnishings there were, had been pushed to the side, up against the far wall. There must have been a service about to start when the alarm had rung, judging by the fresh scent of incense that hung in the air, mixing with the heat and scent of too many bodies together in too small a space. It made Redda distinctly uncomfortable.

The brunette scanned the groups, searching for the familiar faces of her friends, but everyone was nearly indistinguishable in the lack of light. While she knew it was supposed to be a holy place, she'd always wondered why there weren't any large windows to let in a bit more daylight. The few burning braziers in the back of the shrine were hardly adequate to light the whole of the building. And the slim notches in the wall below the roofline were only just enough to keep the smoke from the flames and incense from flooding the room.

After another minute of enduring the hushed whispering and the sweaty closeness, Redda was already regretting her decision to listen to her father. The shrine didn't feel any safer than taking shelter in one of the other buildings. She was even starting to gather up the courage to speak up and point out her misgivings, when she felt a strong grip on her shoulder.

_Since all I could do was follow, I kept my position behind the girl as she led us through the doors. Even before we crossed the entryway, my eyes were startin to burn something fierce. I just blinked the feeling away as best I could and waited for my vision to clear up. I didn't really like what I was seein' too much either. I don't know what I expected when I set off after the chief's daughter, but bein taken to a room stuffed with kids and girls wasn't it. I also kinda guessed what they were tryin ta do here, and even I could see it was a dumb idea. If the place was under attack, why stick all yer treasure in one place? And with only two measly guards that I could'a beat when I was ten? That was just askin for trouble._

_Not to mention I could barely breathe in here, much less move around to defend anyone else. So I decided to do what I could ta improve the situation, and tried to get my guide's attention. I wasn't gonna stay in this sardine can longer than I had to. It wasn't smart, and it wasn't safe._

Redda found she was being dragged by the hand back out into the early morning air, and was grateful for it, despite the surprised protest that had slipped past her lips when the Spirit first pulled on her. "W-where are we going?"

Her question was ignored, and she struggled to maintain her footing as she was nearly dragged along away from the shrine. Behind her she could hear the guards shouting out warnings, and calling for her to come back, but the Spirit seemed insistent, and was far stronger than his slight frame would have otherwise suggested. She didn't offer any more protests, though her eyes widened when she realized what direction she was being taken, the outer wall.

"There's no gate that way, it's a dead end," she tried to point out, but it was little use since there was no meaning in her words for him. Concerned, she pulled back on the arm she was being dragged by, and had to resort to digging her heels into the grass of the hill to slow him down.

Sensing resistance, the Spirit turned to face her with questioning eyes.

She pointed at the high wall down at the base of the hill, shaking her head. "There's no way around it," she tried pantomiming a door that couldn't be opened. "We'll be stuck, and we can't go toward the front gate. It's too dangerous that way."

Redda was confused even further when the Spirit shook his head at her in return, fixing her with a lopsided grin. She was about to try and ask what he thought was so amusing, when with no warning, he thrust the sheathed blade her father had given him into her hands, and scooped her up into his arms in the same moment. She didn't even have time to consider what he was doing, or berate him for the strange behavior when the Spirit took off running in a burst of speed down the slope of the hill, angling on a collision course with the village wall.

But she did have time to scream, which she did.

A/N: Just to point out, since it was brought up to me…this story is not a crossover, not at this point anyway. The setting and the characters, aside from Ranma and the Nerima references, is wholly of my own creation. If I slip in any crossover characters or places, I'll be sure to let you all know.

Thanks for reading, and look forward to part 6 wherein the fight begins.

Also for those of you just following along with each update, earlier today I edited chapters 2-4 and added a few extra paragraphs to better bridge the chapter transitions, roughtly 300-400 words more per chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Glass Memorial

Chapter 6

A/N: Chapter 6 will be reposted pending a slight rewrite. A couple of issues were pointed out that made a good deal of sense, enough that it had me plowing through a good six volumes of the manga to clarify some things. I'll have it up in the morning, since I'm kinda beat from all the other updates I posted today. (10/11/08)

_All I had was a glimmer of a plan, and it was pretty shabby at that. I wanted to get a better idea of what was goin on, who was attakin, that kinda thing. I couldn't do none of those things if I was holed up in a room full a warm bodies. Which led me to discover I really didn't like feelin all bunched up and trapped, cuz all that did was get me ta thinking about that damn room I'd been cooped up in. So I bolted, and took the girl along with me. I'd kinda got the feelin that the big guy would be reachin for that axe of his faster than I could blink if something bad happened to his daughter. The last thing I needed was ta be makin more enemies outta people I thought were supposta be friends._

_Which brought me to the current situation; me running full tilt down the hill with a screamin brunette in my arms, wishin she'd quiet down a little, and prayin I could make the jump over the wall I was about to smack into if I misjudged the distance. If I coulda risked a pressure point knockout on the girl, I mighta used it just to get her ta stop shriekin. My plan was to get outside the village and sneak around ta the front to try and get behind whoever was doin the fightin. At least we were far enough away from the front gate that she wouldn't give away our presence. This was gonna have ta be real sneaky._

_I'd already made sure we wouldn't be surprising anyone on the other side of the wall with our sudden appearance outta the sky. Just before chargin down the hill, I'd reached out with my senses and found no people sized ki in that direction. It was actually a little harder ta do than I'd imagined, probably cuz o' the huge blob of life energy smooshed inta the building behind me. But, it felt empty enough ta risk jumpin over at that point._

_At the last second, I tensed my legs and gave it my all, pushin against the ground in a leap that I hoped would get us over the top of the wall. I could tell it was gonna be close._

Redda felt her stomach drop as the Spirit carried her over the wall, flying from near the base of the hill, just barely missing stepping on the pointed tips of the logs that made up the wall, before they were falling. She screwed her eyes shut as the ground rushed up from more than a dozen feet below, the lurching in her guts more pronounced than during the ascent. There was a small thump, and the nauseous feeling in her chest went away. Popping open one eye, she was relieved to find that they were back on solid ground. Looking up from her position cradled in the Spirits arms, she fixed a decent strength glare on her face, a little more comfortable showing displeasure than the fear she'd felt gripping her heart.

But the Spirit wasn't paying any attention to her at the moment, his head turned sharply along the wall, gazing toward the direction of the gates.

Frowning a little more, she wondered what the Spirit intended to do with her. If he was running away, it wasn't a very brave thing to do. And if he was planning on giving her to the slavers, well, it just didn't seem like the sort of thing he would do, so she tried not to consider it. She gripped the sword tighter to her chest. No, he wouldn't have given her a weapon if that was the case. So, the only other thing she could think of was that he planned to fight. And that set her grinning. If they could fight off the slavers, she could prove to her father that she was just as capable as any of the boys in the village.

She already knew she was a little stronger and faster than most of the kids her age, and she'd even proved it during the festival when she'd beat down both the Malen twins at the wrestling game. And she didn't even use her special tactic to win. Not that her father had been very supportive, especially after he'd all but forbidden her to enter in the first place. Seeing as how she'd won, she hadn't gotten into too much trouble afterward.

Lost in thought, she barely noticed when she was put back on her own two feet. But she did however, notice the Spirit when he put a hand on her shoulder and shook her to get her attention. She was about to speak when he stuck a finger to his lips and indicated that it would be best to be quiet. So she whispered instead, "What is it?"

The Spirit motioned toward the gate and reached down to the scabbard she held, unclasping the loop that secured the blade inside the sheath. He used his thumb against the pommel to free the first two or three inches of silvery metal, before taking his hand away. Redda got the point and clasped the grip, sliding the blade free of its covering.

The blade was well balanced, and fit comfortably in her hands, but she could already tell it was a little heavier than she might have liked. Sometimes she practiced swinging around the few farming tools that resembled the dangerously glinting length of metal, but after taking a practice swing with the sword in her hand, she realized how pale the comparison actually was.

Though the blade was fairly short, roughly the length of her arm, she noticed that it took quite a bit of effort to bring it up and hold it aloft. There was no way she would be swinging it around as easy as a walking stick. Redda looked down at the scabbard in her other hand and ended up wrapping in into her belt so that she wouldn't lose it, and so that it hung free to the side, out of the way of her legs. Gripping the weapon with both hands lifted a lot of the strain on her shoulder and felt more comfortable. The Spirit seemed to be judging her every move, but didn't appear to want to take back the weapon.

_I watched the girl as she got a feel for the sword. I'd been kinda worried that it might be a mistake, but she did a pretty good job of hackin up the air in measured strokes without any of the wide swings I'd seen beginner students use, the few times pops and I'd stopped by kendo or iaido dojos on the road. She was wearin short sleeves and I could see the muscles playing along her arms each time she brought the blade up again after a short chop, or thrust. She wasn't as strong as Akane, but I could see the effort she put into tryin ta improve herself. Then I got a image of her dad for a sec. Maybe she was just growin, and was gonna inherit the old man's monster-like size. I thought about that for just a bit, and decide it was sorta creepy._

_Shaking my head, I gave her a grin to let her know it was all good. Besides, I was pretty sure we didn't have a whole lot of time to waste just standin around._

_  
"C'mon, they're not gonna wait for us forever," I grinned, and started walking off toward the gate. I wanted to take it a little slower, that way I could keep checkin' now and then to see if I could get a ki sense of how strong the enemy was._

_Plus there was the little fact that while it was better than the girl had a weapon out and ready ta defend herself with, I was afraid that the faster we hurried, the higher the chance that she'd trip, or fall or otherwise end up sticking the pointy end of the weapon into part of her or me that it didn't belong. And it was harder to remain quiet and unnoticed if we were trompin through the underbrush that surrounded the village on this side, so close to the forest that I'd found my training log in._

_She musta been thinkin the same thing, cuz the big guy's daughter held her sword at the ready, but clearly off to one side, so she could keep an eye on just where its sharp edges lay._

The village girl and the displaced martial artist made good time and crossed the distance to the front of the village where the gate was uninterrupted and in only a few minutes. Once they'd covered half the distance, the sound of battle and the faint scent of smoke reached them, driving the girl a little faster, but with no less caution.

While she wanted to get into the thick of things, she harbored little illusions of the grandeur of battle that some of the boys in the village seemed to regale in; due in part to the unembellished tales that her father told her about his own mercenary days, usually in an effort to dissuade his only daughter's unusual interest in such matters. But, that didn't mean she was free of biases, as she would find out rather shortly.

The edge of the wall that lead around to the front was heavily overgrown, nearly meeting the tree line, and the two were able to get settled in unobtrusively while Ranma took the time to scout out his opponents. He didn't like what he found, that was for sure. The entire walk up to the front, he'd been sending out his ki senses, in an effort to gauge their strength, but none of the attackers felt any stronger than Kuno, and most of them considerably less so. However, the sheer number of them more than made up for any lack of internal fortitude. Besides, all he could manage so far was barely skim the surface of another person's ki. It wasn't a very accurate skill, not yet anyway, but there was definite promise.

But for now, he was still going to have to rely on his eyes to measure what he was up against. And right now, the little fires that were burning at the front of the village weren't helping his assessment of the situation. Beside him, Redda gasped involuntarily as she watched dozens of rough looking men charging toward a narrow hole in the gate. All around, bodies were scattered, lying broken and bleeding on the grass, the extent of the carnage hidden by fleeting wisps of smoke. Out across the fields that flanked the far side of the village, she saw wagons and small hastily scrabbled together tents of a war band.

It was too far away for her to tell for sure, but she had a feeling that these were more than just simple slavers and bandits. They didn't get a lot of news from the south, but every now and then, with the travelling fair came tales of sedition and dissention near the borderlands. Her father had fought in some of the skirmishes on the border during the war between Leeds and Altia, but there had been no word of true war breaking out anytime soon. Her father would have mentioned it to the council, and though Redda tried to keep herself scarce, she'd listened in on the meetings once or twice, just to satisfy her curiosity. And she also knew that her father wasn't the only former mercenary to settle in the village. Most of the council, as old as they were, had fought in the Great War.

It was all they talked about on cold nights when they were full with drink and relaxing around the huge hearth in the Mayor's home. It had been those tales in particular, that had caught her interest as a child growing up, and part of her ached to live those adventures, even just for a moment. And now, the chance was right in front of her, and it scared her more than just a little.

_I'd noticed it from the start, that there were a whole lot of em gathered against the village, and it was a little much, even for me. Turning, I looked at the girl, surer now that she'd be better off hidin in the forest. The gate didn't look like it was gonna hold out too much longer, and already I could see the bastards tryin ta force their way in through a gap they'd broken through. The heavy amount of ki on the village side of the gate was obviously still too much for em, and the villagers kept tossing the bodies of those who died in the attempt back out the gate._

_There were already bout twenty casualties, and I couldn't tell if any had been villagers. I'd kinda been hopin that only a handful of bandits or whatever was involved in the attack, but the row of wagons put that right outta my head. Just the two of us on this side wasn't gonna do much good, and it looked like the bad guys were settin up some kinda machine over by the wagons. Whatever it was, it didn't look like a peace offerin, what with all the pointy bits and ropes they were strappin onto it._

_This was gonna take a bit more planning than I'd hoped. For now, I looked up at the wall. It was higher here, and I doubted I could jump back over on my own, let alone carryin someone else. And while part of me just wanted to charge in and take out as many of em as I could, I knew it'd be the stupid thing ta do in this crazy situation. Then I looked back at the wagons and tents they were setting up. Now, that, I could do something about._


	7. Chapter 7

Glass Memorial

Chapter 7

The scowl on Cygnus's face was tight and the light that smoldered in his eyes was dark as he rallied the last of the men toward the widening gap in the front gate. "Hurry you lot! If we don't stem the tide and thin their numbers the bastards will have the gate down around our ears!" The mayor gripped the double-bladed axe in his hands, sending ripples down the muscles that corded his forearms like roused pythons. He snarled further encouragements, half praise and half threat, even as he bowled through two of the black leather and cloth clad marauders that had managed to weed past the initial lines of defense. He caught one by the throat in a massive hand and brought the butt of his axe down on the back of the skull of the other as he swept past, leaving only crumpled and broken forms in his wake. This was his town, and no one would take it from him. To try was tantamount to signing one's own death warrant, and these invaders would see the folly of their ways in the end.

Nearer to the gate, three of the townsmen especially seemed to take heart in hearing the bellows of their mayor, and fought to repel the attackers with a renewed fervor. The three were all merchants near the smithy on Aven Street, longtime friends with the blacksmith who still kept their old weapons sharp and battle ready, if only out of some force of habit and sense of longing for past glories on the battlefields they'd all shed blood together on. They'd been the first to arrive following the toll of the bell, and despite the years, they'd managed to weather the brunt of the successive wave of attacks pouring in through the crack in the village's barrier to the outside world.

Now, with Cygnus bringing up from the rear, the three picked up the pace, swords and lance whirling into a bloody frenzy as five more bandits had the fire snuffed from their wicks. "Hah, Kale, I'd like to see you match that," the eldest of the trio barked as he flicked a warm spray of blood off the blade in his left hand with a deft motion, bringing the weapon around to bear against the edge of a pair of daggers wielded by another black clad foe that had sprung through the splintery gap in the wooden gate that was slowly being widened from the outside. As the daggers were brushed aside, the blade in his off-hand snicker-snackt and the bandit's head lolled half to one side with a vital spray.

"You're getting slow in the head in your old age, Merrik, if you think you could ever keep up with me," the former mercenary gritted out in reply, yanking his lance out from where he'd buried it in the neck of another bandit. The long pole-arm sprung free with a wet spurt, and Kale, a balding and gray bearded man of some fifty summers shook his head as he contested his longtime friend and rival, the man once known as _Three-hand_. "At this rate, I'll be getting that date from Yemma," the cloth merchant boasted, goading the other man.

Merrik wiped at the blood that had flecked his face with the back of his hand, mostly managing to smear it into his bushy mustache in the process. "Hah, as if she'd give you a second glace after you blinded her with that shiny skull of yours! Why, all I need is a moment alone with that sweet flower, and the chance to let my hands do the talking," he skirted sideways as he spoke, just barely avoiding the thrust of a badly rusted and chipped blade wielded by an irate marauder.

The owner of the poorly tended blade didn't have the chance for a second strike as a great span of metal caved in his skull from above. The great two handed sword withdrew when the body beneath it collapsed to the ground, rising into the air with a sucking sound from the huge divot in the marauder's skull. Bagir shouldered the blade across his shoulder, shooting the two bickering men a withering glare. "Can't you two take anything serious for once?"

At the heavyset man's words, the trickle of enemies seemed to stop, and the defenders tensed up as the lull in battle became apparent. They could still hear the sounds of fighting coming from behind them down the street where a few marauders had gotten past, but there was nothing but the faint wisps of smoke and morning fog coming from the other side of the wall. Around them, the trio could see that the village had suffered a small handful of losses, and not all of their dead were men. The few bodies were of young boys, no longer children, but not quite men yet, and their presence only strove to drive home what exactly the ex-mercenaries had struggled to build and even now fought to protect. Bagir was right; this wasn't really a matter to make light of.

From behind them, Cygnus's deep voice rumbled, "They won't have stopped for no reason. Do we have anyone still up on the post?" The mayor answered his own question with a quick glance to the tower, the little shack sitting at the junction between the wall and the front gate where the warning bell was housed. He really need not have bothered, since the gong had long since stopped even before he'd made it to the forefront. The post was empty. With a quick turn, he spotted one of the younger men in a group that was using the respite to take a rest. "You, get up to the tower and tell me what's going on out there. Be quick about it and don't go standing up there like a fool." When Cygnus saw that the young man wasn't about to move, he snarled, raising his axe hand. "Move boy or so help me I'll send you out through the hole instead!"

Eyes fixed on the great axe, the young man stammered something about preferring the tower, and scrambled toward the staircase that lined the side of the wall.

"Now," the mayor turned his attention back to the gate, and the three aging ex-mercenaries. "Why aren't I surprised to find you lot here, up to your wrinkled old necks in trouble." He didn't really expect an answer, and instead clasped a weathered hand on the rotund Bagir's shoulder. "Go check to see how the women are faring. I don't like all this quiet, and we all know why these," he spat at the nearly beheaded corpse of a bandit, "bastards, are bothering with us in the first place."

The hefty man nodded, "I'll do that. My Hendra wasn't too happy with being sent out along with the rest of the women, and she'd bound to give me grief over it. The sooner she can get it off her chest, the better off I'll be."

Cygnus nodded understandingly, he knew the woman all too well, as she'd been childhood friends with his own departed wife, both having been born and raised in the village together. "And Bagir," he said as he move aside for the large man, "If you can, check up on my daughter, she's bound to be with the boy, you know the one. And find that blasted priest; see what he's up to. I don't like it that these slavers and that lazy-eyed bastard showed up so close together."

"I'll keep an eye out for him," the fat tavern owner rolled his shoulders, settling the heavy weight of his blade across his back and tromped off toward the temple.

Outside the walls, Redda was forced to follow as the Spirit pulled her along through the thick underbrush. At first, when they'd left the shade of the wall, she'd been worried that they were heading away from the village and the battle, but soon she realized that the two of them were merely skirting the very edge of the field that surrounded the front of the village by creeping along the tree line. Twice she'd tried to question the boy who was tugging her along in a loose but still quite firm grip. Both times, her words and gestures had fallen on deaf ears, as the Spirit was either completely missing her point, or was plain ignoring her. She hoped it wasn't the latter, since the thought seemed to bother her for some strange reason.

But, once she realized where they appeared to be headed, she relaxed, as much as the situation allowed, and let herself get pulled along, though the weight of live steel she held in her sweaty palm was beginning to wear at her arm, just a little. Up ahead, where the forest line started to thin near the river, the brunette noticed the fog was still thick where it rolled off the farm fields. That was where the Spirit was leading her, she was sure of it.

_Keepin one eye on the tents and one eye on the forest, just in case, I grabbed the girl and told her ta keep quiet as best she could. Which was pretty much just me makin' a 'be quiet' motion with my fingers over my mouth and pointin' at the guys that kept trying to get into the village. I think she got the idea, after she copied me and nodded without saying anything._

_I looked out at the tents and the direction all the smoke and fog was movin', trying to spot the best place to sneak in. I didn't have ta search too long, and found a real good place, over by where the girl had first brought me from on the way to the village. The fog was good and thick there, and we'd be able to get real close, hopefully without anyone noticin'. That was the first part of my plan anyway._

_I just needed to get in around the side of that camp, and I could do enough damage to hopefully drive them away, or at least make 'em think twice about stickin' their noses where they didn't belong._

_Once we got around the edge of the field, and into the real thick fog, I had to slow down a little, cuz it was kinda hard to keep the directions straight in my head. I couldn't see the fires in the camp anymore, and I started to get the feeling that I might accidentally get turned around, wouldn't that be great. Now definitely wasn't the time to pull a Ryouga._

_Slowing down a little more, I squinted, tryin' to decide if I could just see one'a the camp fires, or if it was a trick of the fog. Behind me, still holdin' my hand, I felt the girl settle in a little closer and whisper gibberish into my ear. Her breath kinda tickled, and I had no idea what she was sayin, but I finally realized that she was pointing at something with her sword hand, something up above. Looking up, I could see the fog was starting to thin out, and a darker gray began drifting past. Smoke. The girl had good eyes. She must've been telling me we could follow the smoke right back to the camp. I shot her a smile, and gave her arm a tug. Now that I wasn't worried about getting lost, we could make up some time._


	8. Chapter 8 part 1

Glass Memorial

Chapter 8 part 1 of 2

Following the smoke, it wasn't long before we found the edge of the camp. The fog had cleared some, but there was still plenty around to cover our approach. It wasn't like they would've noticed anything, the place was all hustle and bustle. Looked like a buncha ants crawling all over the place after ya poked the nest a bit. If someone was giving orders, I couldn't tell over the shouting that sounded like it was coming from everywhere at once. What a mess.

Beside me, the girl put on a scowl, getting herself worked up. Not that I blamed her, all she knew was there were dozens of them, and just me and her. Great odds to have in a fight. I shot a grin her way, no harm in bein' a little reassuring. I figured she could use it, especially the way she was white-knuckling her grip on the sword.

We watched from around the corner of the closest tent, for about half a minute, just so I could figure out the best angle to snag the most of 'em in one go. Then, it would be way easier to mop up any stragglers, one at a time. The hardest part would be explaining to her what the plan was.

As it turned out, I didn't have to try very long, mostly since she got the whole 'wait there' bit. I guess pointing to a spot on a crappy dirt map repeatedly, and holding out your palm was a pretty universal sign. Either way, she whispered something to me, and darted back out into the field back the way we'd come. I think she got the point about waiting halfway back to the village, not that she seemed happy about it, but there would be plenty of 'em left to hack away at once I was done.

With her safely out of the way, the fun part was about to begin. I swear, it felt like forever since I'd gotten a decent workout. Stretching a bit, I bounced a few times on my toes. I don't think I even realized how much I'd been missing this feeling. Oh, man, this was gonna be great!

The best I could tell through all the ruckus, the camp was pretty much thrown together every which way. It would've been a whole lot easier if they'd set up in a circle, or square. I mean, any sort of shape would have made things so much easier to take apart. Then again, who doesn't love a challenge. I mean, where would the fun be?

So, I picked out where the bandits were gathered thickest, and aimed for that. Bounding out from behind the tent, it took all of eight steps before I was airborne. It felt like I had all the time in the world, twisting my body into a somersaulting arc that brought me a good ten meters into the air, and halfway toward the masses down below. Touching down just beside one of them, I was coiled and back up in the sky before he had a chance to register the dozen or so taps that dropped him where he stood.

I nearly misjudged my second landing, but falling through a thick cloud of ash and smoke will do that to ya, especially when you're aiming smack dab into a moving crowd. Luckily, I landed feet first into someone's face, making for a half-decent break fall.

The best part was everyone was so wrapped up getting themselves ready to attack the village, they hardly took notice of my arrival. Their loss, really. I wasn't gonna complain, if they weren't gonna.

"Hey, idiots! You guys wanna go for a ride? Cuz' I've got yer tickets right here!"

I don't know if it was because I was screaming at the top of my lungs, or what, but one second I might as well have been another bandit, and the next, every head within hearing distance had turned to focus on me. I guess there were a few brains between them, since the closest ones were halfway to taking a swing at me the moment I saw the light click on behind their eyes.

I popped the nearest two the second they twitched, winning them second prize, a nice foot shaped bruise just below the center of their chests. That got a big reaction from the rest of 'em, for sure, and I had to really start moving, ducking axe swings and sword swipes as the mob started riling up. This was a little more dangerous than prodding a hornet's nest, but just what I was hoping for. All I had to do was get em' good and worked up, and keep my feet moving. First prize was coming right up.

It was a bit harder than I remembered, trying to keep my footwork tight enough, but at least I didn't have to worry about keeping anyone particularly angry. These guys did that well enough on their own, which was working out great. But something just didn't feel the same, and it didn't take long to remember what was missing.

"Yep, real nice one there, guy. Your grandpa swings harder than that. What's that? You like to go on dates with yer sister? Oh, I get it, you're just mad that the guys found out yer mom still picks out your clothes!"

It didn't matter if they understood me or not. I could feel the whole place heating up something fierce. I guess it was the tone of my voice, but the blows were getting more frantic now, and the mob was starting to close in, dogging my steps nearly pace for pace. Just the way it needed to be for this to work. Damn if the old crone were here to see this. It was gonna be a big one, that's for sure.


	9. Chapter 8 part 2 of 2

Glass Memorial

Chapter 8 part 2 of 2

Beside the shrine atop the hill, clad in his blue and gold robes, the priest of Sanct Frey watched as the fog began to thin outside the village walls. From the high vantage point, he could just make out the encampment that had quietly been set up overnight. So far, everything was moving along as laid out in the agreement. But, the priest, Klein, wasn't wholly satisfied.

This village was ripe for the plucking, and his position as a trusted and valued member, secure. Though that lout, Cygnus, had never quite taken to the priest's presence. But, whatever misgivings he harbored were surely personal, since the mayor had done nothing to protest the removal of the old shrine artifacts, aside from grumble.

The fact of the matter was the popularity of Sanct Frey, renowned across the whole of Altia. It was an imported religion to be sure, but one well suited to adaptation here in the agrarian hinterlands. The old gods had fallen out of favor after the Great War, though Altia hadn't exactly lost the conflict. The people had simply grown weary after the lengthy conflict. A war spanning over a decade had that sort of effect on general morale. Klein and his brethren, simply stepped in and took advantage of that facet.

He stood there, basking in the warm morning rays of the sun, as the skirmish began in earnest. If he squinted hard, he could just make out the breaching of the main gate. That was his signal to begin putting his own preparations into effect. For that, he headed to the front entrance and inside, past the guards. While space was limited inside the shrine, he needed to gather his staff and prayer scrolls, which were resting just behind the altar at the back. He made his way through the throng of huddled women and children, and took his accustomed place by the altar.

Beyond the city walls, in the middle of the marauder's encampment a prayer of a different sort was sent heavenward. The martial artist known as Ranma Saotome, heir of the Saotome style of Anything Goes Martial Arts raised his fist with a singular intent. It was to unleash a technique he had been taught years ago, one passed down through a hidden tribe of Chinese Amazons, and now made part of his eclectic collection, the Heaven Blast of the Dragon.

The frenzy of armed and angered marauders chasing the lone Japanese youth around the center of the encampment had no time to react between the moment that singular fist punched up toward the sky, and when the initial shockwave of air ripped outward in a tight but swiftly expanding swirl of dust and debris. Those closest to Ranma when he finished the move were tossed aside from the force of the converging air currents that swirled together in the form of a sudden tornado in the encampment.

The gale force winds snapped up tents, men and their weapons with sudden ferocity, as the spiral of air continued to rise, forming a massive funnel. In the eye of the newly created tornado, Ranma watched the fruit of his labor as it spread outward, ripping apart the camp that was moments ago poised to attack the village he was now protecting.

Wincing inwardly, the martial artist surveyed the damage the dissipating whirlwind had wrought. The camp itself was a complete wreck, nearly unrecognizable not a minute later after the man made storm tore through it. Honestly, he hadn't expected quite the devastation. In the past, he'd used the Heaven blast to deal with singular opponents, usually with the result of knocking them out of the fight.

But, that was with the hot chi of one person. By capitalizing on an enraged horde, the effect had grown by leaps and bounds, and that was a thing he would need to keep in mind. At least the winds died out when the source had been spread out. Looking to the south, toward the high wooden walls of the village, he was thankful that he hadn't accidentally set off something worse.

All around the displaced Saotome heir, the bandits were beginning to stir, the ones who'd been at further out, and thus tossed short distances by the initial shock wave. It looked as if a little cleaning up was in order. Ranma cracked his knuckles and prepared to do just that.

A/N: This is all I've got folks. This story has been kicking and screaming, fighting me the entire time I've tried to get back into writing it. If anyone has suggestions, I'll gladly see about implementing them, or possibly work things into a rewrite of Chapter 8 as a whole.


	10. Chapter 9 part 1 of 2

Glass Memorial

Chapter 9 (1 of 2)

The battle had been short, it was the cleanin' up that took a lot longer. That was a week ago. The big guy, and his crew had come out to take care of the stragglers. Two villagers had died, and Cygnus hadn't been inclined to show much mercy to the dazed and stunned survivors scattered around the camp. It wasn't pretty, but I wasn't about to argue.

These guys, they weren't just out to rob the village. A kid could'a figured that out, just from seeing the wagons. Well, what was left of them anyway. I'd pegged 'em for supplies or transport or something. But, then I'd seen the metal bars, and padlocks. They were transport, just not the kind you'd want to be stuck inside.

Later I found out this kind of thing was happening across the country more often. Though this was the first big raid that the village had faced. The slavers, they were coming from the south. Mercenary's mostly, looking to make easy money, or trade for supplies, weapons. The best I could understand, there had been a big war with another country. But that was back when the big guy, Cygnus, had been younger.

Now, most of the fighting had died down, though problems in the southern country, Leeds, were beginning to spill across the border. But, around here, news was hard to come by. It wasn't like they could just turn on a TV, or read a paper. It was just as cut off as the smaller villages in China, and some parts of Japan, that I'd been to with the old man. Not that I'd really paid much attention to the news in the first place.

Here though, I needed to know what was going on. The people, the land, it was important if I wanted to find a way back home. So, I'd been spending just as much time trying to figure out the language as I was getting back into shape. Well, mostly. I'd never been too good at picking up Chinese, or the English being taught at Furinkan.

But, I was better at it than the panda. Enough to hold it over his head. Course, having a crazed Chinese fiancee chasing after me probably had something to do with picking up bits and pieces of the language. Not that I'd ever used it in front of her. That would have made things worse. Trouble seemed to find me easily enough without me goin' looking for it on purpose.

After we'd chased off the attackers that were able to flee on foot, one of the wounded survivors was all too willing to spout out all kinds of things to keep the chief from putting him out of his misery. I still don't know what he'd told the big man, but the priest had been dragged out of the temple kicking and screaming, probably cursing the whole village in the process. I made myself scarce for a little while after that. Besides, I hadn't exactly kept Redda out of harm's way like I was supposed to. No sense in making a scene and kicking the bee's nest.

Redda, yeah, her old man hadn't been happy about that in the least. But, he'd been too busy with everything else to do more than yell at her for a bit. Hadn't done anything about the sword I'd left her with either. She'd held onto it in the days since. I didn't blame her, the whole village was still on edge after the attack.

The junk that the priest had brought to the temple had all been tossed out. It was still sitting in a pile behind the building, replaced with a bunch of older stuff, probably from before. That's what it looked like to me, though visitors coming and going up that hill were less than when the priest had been settled in.

None of that really mattered much to me, as I wasn't a big fan of temples and shrines in the first place, no thanks to pops and his sticky fingers. Being chased after by angry shrine maidens, and hit by brooms was not my idea of a good time as a kid. Well, the being chased part hadn't been all that bad. Kinda fun when I sat and thought about it.

Right now, I had my run of the village, pretty much. But, it was a toss up as to if that was good or not. I'd been mostly ignored when I first got here, that was about the only thing that really changed. Before, people gave me odd looks now and then, but after a few days, I was less a curiosity, and more another pair of hands. The last thing I wanted to do was make trouble, or be a free-loader again. Besides, hard work was just another training method.

Though, after the mess with the slavers, I don't think anyone knew what to make of me. Half of the folks kept their distance more than they had at first. The rest, it felt like business as usual. I don't think that anyone other than the chief and the few at the front gate even saw what I did. Though I suppose it was too much of a coincidence that they found me moving through the ruined camp, pummeling the snot out of groggy bandits who were dumb enough to stick around after everything had been blown apart by the Hiryuu Shoten Ha I'd set off.

Redda had gotten a pretty good look though, especially once all the fog had been dispersed. It had done nothing short of convince her that I wasn't human like everyone else. Not that she needed more convincing, once I figured out that the name she'd been calling me since we first met was being spread around the village. _Ides_.

I still didn't know what it meant, though I had a pretty good idea as anyone else that called me that said it from a good distance away. Except the kids. Village kids just treated it like a game, and sometimes got a little too close before bolting whenever I pretended to suddenly notice them sneaking up. The whole thing felt like I was constantly playing Daruma-san whenever my back was turned.

Once the place started to settle back down, I spent a good amount of time just listening to Redda talk while I practiced my forms. I'd been cooped up for so long, it felt good to just have the room to move as I pleased. Everything was muscle-memory, and took little effort on my part. I was free to concentrate on what she was trying to tell me.

After a while, she started pointing to things and repeated a word or two. Catching on, I'd parrot back what she said, and then she would point to something else, a plant or a nearby building, things she'd shown me before, and I'd wrack my brain to come up with the proper name. After a few days, I had gathered a good chuck of new words to play around with.

It wasn't much, but it was a start. I also tried to focus on what the villagers said to each other in greeting, and what Redda and her old man said to each other at the beginning of meals, or before calling it a night. Some of it sounded the same as what other people said, and parts were different. The easiest bits to remember were the morning salutations, and the casual greetings for passing someone by on the street.

Eventually, I gave it a shot, and firmly crammed my foot in my mouth when I tried to tell Redda what I'd taken to mean 'it's good to see you.' It seemed easy enough when watching everyone else. Men said one thing to other men, and said it slightly different toward women. But, I guess I hadn't seen enough of the latter to realize there was different levels of familiarity, because the girl turned a bright shade of red. So I tried the other version, and she just started laughing. I'm not really sure which was less embarrassing.

Language lessons aside, I helped out with chores around the chief's place. Like his daughter, the big man didn't treat me any differently than before. If anything, he was a lot less serious, but that didn't take away from the fact that he was a lot more imposing than Mr. Tendou had ever been. He also wasn't nearly as overprotective of his daughter, but this was a different situation, and certainly a more dangerous place to live than Nerima. Then again, the man was built like a tank, with arms bigger than my head. Only a suicidal idiot would mess with this man's daughter.

In exchange for puttin' me up, and teaching me, I decided to give Redda a few pointers with that sword she'd held onto. She was more than happy to learn, and like I'd first thought, was entirely self taught. It was going to take time to undo the bad habits she'd drilled into herself, but we had plenty of that. No, the harder part was figuring out the best use for the heavier and shorter double edged blade.

I've had plenty of trainin' with all kinds of blades in the past, mostly Chinese ones, like the double-edged Jian and heavier curved Dao. But neither were good comparisons to this particular sword. It was going to take some getting used to, this heavy leaf edged blade.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I'm back in the game. Next part will be closer to the 3k mark.


	11. Chapter 9 part 2 of 2 (revised)

Glass Memorial

Author's Foreword:

This chapter has been edited and extended from the original version posted on 7/3/13.

Chapter 9 (part 2 of 2)

The blade cut a shining arc through the air, polished metal gleaming in the early morning light. I couldn't help but smile as the sword passed neatly through the space I'd left behind. Twisting in mid air I avoided the follow up strike before landing behind my opponent. "Very close," I remarked, bouncing lightly on the balls of my feet.

I had to lean slightly to the left to avoid that same blade from sliding into my skull, as the third attack came, riding just behind my comment. The stab came from over the shoulder with a twisting motion before retreating along the same path, brushing past wavy brown hair.

"Stop," I said, righting myself before Redda could spin around with the backhand stroke her shoulders betrayed. "Enough for today."

The brunette sheathed her weapon with a faint click of metal against metal and the scrape of leather. Turning, she faced me, sweat slicked hair clinging to her forehead in strands. As usual, I'd run her ragged, through forms and then finally a few minutes of sparring. Stepping back, she put ample space between us and bent at the waist. I held the whittled branch I'd been using to my side and bowed in return.

It was one of the few customs I'd insisted on imparting when I began training her in earnest. I was determined to hold onto tradition in this respect, as even my shitty old man had insisted on the same. Even if I disagreed with almost everything else he'd said and done, his honor when it came to the Art was still worth something. As the sole Saotome in this world, I had a name to uphold, if only to myself.

"Thank you for the lesson," the shorter girl said as she straightened. Redda looked exhausted, but not out of it. Which was the point for most of her training. While she wasn't as criminally gigantic as her father, the brunette was still strong for her size. It made wielding the blade at her side that much easier. Still, though her grip didn't falter, her shoulders had needed more strength to keep up the taxing work of swinging the weapon with the precision that I required and expected.

A month of effort, sweat, and a little bloodshed, had done wonders for her condition, but it wasn't quite enough to satisfy me. Pushing her as hard as I did, she came to expect more of herself along the way. It might have also had to do with the big guy. He'd taken to watching the lessons from time to time, but refrained from stepping in himself, at least in the beginning.

Mostly, he'd just sat quietly on a tree stump nodding to himself, or frowning, when his daughter made obvious mistakes. After a week of hanging out, Cygnus had apparently come to a decision. I thought he meant to step in and take over. Back then, none of this had been official, not really. So I figured he'd seen enough and had a problem, mostly because he had a look I didn't quite get, plastered across his face. Maybe the thick graying beard threw me off.

It didn't help that back then I was still trying to wrap my head around the language here. I could understand bits and pieces, but that was mostly for day to day stuff. I'd already taken to using a substitute sword, just to go through the motions with Redda, and to use as a prodding tool here and there. If there were practice swords available in the village, I'd never seen one, and neither the chief, nor Redda had thought to mention otherwise. So I'd been working with what I could scrounge up in the forest.

I didn't recognize any of the trees around the village, but some had wood hard enough to withstand repeated blows and were still flexible enough not to splinter easily. I'd gathered a bundle of varying sized branches that weren't completely dried out to use as practice swords and help with Redda's strength training, but every so often I had to scrounge up some more since they eventually wore out.

The chief passed by my pile of practice swords and picked up the largest one, the sort I had Redda use to strengthen her shoulders. The repetitive overhead strikes with the thick branch was a tried and true method toward developing the muscles in her back and shoulders. She'd already put in thousands of swings so far, and had the blisters to prove it.

Though, in her father's case, the hefty branch was made into a toy. He rolled his broad shoulders and tilted his head from side to side. I could hear the cracking from across the several meters that separated us. He said a few words then, a short mouthful that I didn't catch. Redda did however, and stopped the arm numbing drills I'd been having her work on. She lowered her own wooden weapon and stepped back, some distance away from her father and myself.

Cygnus held his weapon at the ready, end of the branch angled slightly, and definitely leveled in my direction. He spoke again, repeating what he'd said. But I'd pretty much figured out what was going on at that point. I'd been challenged more times than I could count. The only problem here was I didn't know the rules, or the reason behind the fight. That had happened more than once before too, and it usually ended up making my life more interesting than I might have liked.

On the plus side, he wasn't exuding any killing intent, not that I could sense. But, he certainly looked serious, and that was reason enough to not brush this off. I wondered if maybe he was just bored, stuck sitting around most of the time. I'd be itching to throw down too, if I was just stuck sitting on my hands. I knew exactly how that felt.

Raising my own wooden blade, I mimed his stance and was rewarded with a simple nod. That was the only warning I had before the big man moved. I didn't want to be standing there when he arrived like an avalanche.

Darting to the side, I felt the pressure of the branch as it passed, and I had to keep moving because the blow didn't carry through like I imagined. The slightly carved blade passed over my head as I ducked the follow up arc. Intending to capitalize on the open space he'd left in his guard, I darted my own weapon in toward his armpit, but the 'hilt' of his weapon dropped down and robbed my strike of its intent.

Shifting my feet, I slide toward his rear. Cygnus followed along, attempting to keep me from having his back. He lashed out with free hand as he turned, still guarding with the bottom of the branch. For having to move around that kind of bulk, he was quick, and almost connected with a knee aimed at knocking the wind out of me.

Using that massive limb as a pivot point, I rolled with the blow and pushed off, tucking into a backward roll that put more distance between us. Distance that he ate up in a heartbeat with two long strides. For the first time in a good while I smiled, nice and sharp, as I darted forward wooden blade at the ready.

This wasn't like facing the idiot Kendoist. No, my opponent understood that these weapons were only another tool to be used. Not something to be relied on to make up for a lack of martial skill. Anyone could be trained to swing a sword, or stab with a spear. But, that left the wielder diminished when those same tools failed them, or were lost, taken away.

Disarm Kuno and he was just another moron parading around in a Hakama. Take away Ryouga's umbrella, and you were left with a pissed off Martial Artist who would just as soon crush you in a bear hug, shattering bones as easy as he cracked walnuts in his palm. That was the difference, and one that this man lived and breathed.

Not that it was a good time to be reflecting on the past, I realized as soon as the next flurry of blows rained down, whip cracking with displaced air. Countering the onslaught, I slipped in a few quick punches across the big guy's left side, and a minor tick beneath his eye told me he'd taken notice.

But, like my Bakusai Tenketsu trained buddy back home, Cygnus just grinned, I was close enough to see teeth through the wiry beard that covered the lower half of his face. It wasn't a pretty sight. Reminded me of the panda when he got it into his head to be a nuisance.

It was also all the warning I had before another knee snapped up and nearly clocked me in the chin. At best even in my guy form, I only came up to the center of the chief's chest. Honestly, the guy could probably stare down Akebono, and Akebono was _huge_.

Skirting to the side, our swords clashed as he brushed aside the jab that I'd aimed at his throat. Darting away from the heavy blows, the clash of wood echoed in the small field behind the chiefs house that I'd been using to train Redda. Most of the ground underfoot was flat, though it rolled in a few places, and there was a nasty hole near the well that just begged for an ankle to get broken in.

Back and forth we traded strikes, and the blades held up for longer than I thought they would under the pressure. It probably helped that neither of us were fully committed, or the swords would not have lasted past a handful of attacks. Tumbling, I rolled away from another series of cross slashes that I countered as I vaulted over the final sideways strike. My returning counter aimed at the top of his bald head, shining in the rising sun, a prime target.

I must have been caught up in the memory, because the next thing I knew, a tanned hand was waving in front of my face, and Redda was a whole lot closer than she'd been a second ago. Blinking back to the present, I tried to play it off and just ended up scratching at the back of my head. A little embarrassment kept you humble, I guess.

The brunette just shook her head. She was probably used to a few of my quirks, but I guess being confused for some kind of shape-changing fairy or something, had its good points. I could do pretty much whatever I wanted and no one saw fit to complain.

It was a welcome change of pace from the crazy that followed me around back home. It was quiet here, and I was free to focus on training, though I helped out now and then. Small chores and carting stuff around, things like that. The weather was beginning to cool down, and the village was getting ready to head out into the fields, so I had a feeling that there would be a lot more work to do soon.

I also felt a lot more comfortable with talking. Of course, I could pretty much only get basic ideas across, though I'd take victories wherever I found them. On the other hand, I was a lot better at listening now. Which was a big help. Reading though, that was a pain in my side.

If I was being honest, my education hadn't been the best. Growing up on the road had kind of short changed me. Cracking the books had always been a sore point, and that was in my own language. I didn't feel too bad though, because it didn't seem like the villagers did a whole lot of reading themselves. I wasn't even sure if all of them could in the first place.

Not that they needed to. Maybe some of the shop keepers, and merchants. But the rest were farmers, farmers that worked all day, and spent the nights at home or at the tavern attached to the small Inn up the road. The only books I'd seen were up at the shrine, and one that Redda had.

She said it was her mothers, and mostly old stories at that. She'd read her favorite to me, after she thought I was showing just enough interest. It had been about a witch living in the mountains, one who kept fairies as pets, and kidnapped children for some dark purpose. It was pretty detailed really, I just wasn't able to follow along as well as Redda clearly wanted.

On the other hand, the book had given me an idea, and I spent some time digging around the old storage on the hill behind the temple. The temple was one place I could go and no one batted an eye, so I didn't feel bad about poking around the stuff they were slowly putting back after the priest was kicked out. It was there that I came across a second book. I couldn't read it, but I had no trouble looking at the pictures I found on several pages, pictures that reminded me of the story that Redda told.


End file.
